Roborock S7 vs Q7 – Differences Clearly Explained

What are the differences between the Roborock S7 and Q7?

The Roborock S7 has a scrubbing mop that can raise itself when carpet is detected, whereas the Roborock Q7 has the basic, fixed mop. The S7 has an upgraded electronic water tank whereas the Q7 has a gravity-based water tank. The S7 has the larger water tank of the two while the Q7 has the larger dustbin. 

See Roborock S7 on Amazon

Or click here to see the Roborock S7+ on Amazon.

Note that there are “+” versions of these vacuums, which just means an auto-emptying dock is included. The same differences between the S7 and the Q7 apply to the S7+ and Q7+.

What are the similarities between Roborock S7 and Q7?

Both models have LIDAR navigation for precise mapping. Both give you multiple ways to tell it where to go and where not to go. Both will top up their batteries mid-clean if they’re unable to finish your entire floor in one go.

That was the abbreviated version. For more details, continue reading the rest of the article below.

If you’ve been thinking about getting a new Roborock vacuum and mop, you might be wondering what the differences between the Roborock S7 and Roborock Q7 are. In this article, I will compare the two models and highlight their differences so that you can make an informed decision and choose the right robot for you.

Difference 1. The S7 is equipped with a better mop than the Q7.

Even though it’s technically older, the Roborock S7 has a few features that the Q7 does not have. The most salient of these features is the sonic mop. Unlike the standard mop, the S7’s mop vibrates rapidly (3,000 times per minute according to Roborock) to create a “scrubbing” action as it mops your floors. This results in a much deeper clean. 

The Q7, on the other hand, has a standard mop that does not vibrate. The mopping pad is attached to the robot in a fixed position. While it may not be as effective as the S7, it still does a decent job of cleaning your floors since it vacuums and mops in one go.

The winner here is the S7. A vibrating mopping pad beats a static mopping pad any day.

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Difference 2. The S7 can lift its mop, the Q7 cannot. 

The second difference between these two robots is that the S7’s mop will retract itself automatically when it detects carpet. The floor sensors on the bottom of the S7 constantly scan the ground and will tell the robot when it is on carpet. As soon as carpet is detected, the mop is raised. 

This prevents the mop from getting soaked and leaving water stains on your carpet. The Q7 cannot do this, so if you have any carpets or area rugs in your home, they will likely get wet when the Q7 mops over them. There is a way to get around this, and that is to designate your carpeted areas as no-go zones on the Roborock app whenever there is water in the Q7’s water tank. 

A win for the S7. Not having to worry about your carpets getting wet is a big plus.

See Roborock S7 on Amazon

Or click here to see the Roborock S7+ on Amazon.

Difference 3. The S7 has an upgraded electronic water tank, the Q7 has a gravity-based water tank. 

The Roborock S7’s water tank is electronic. That is, the amount of water dispensed can be precisely controlled via the app. The app gives you an insane level of control from 0 (dry as a bone) to 30 (let’s flood this sucker). 

This precise level of control comes in handy if let’s say you have sensitive floors that can’t handle a lot of water, or if perhaps you have areas of your home that have messes that need a little extra water to clean. Either way, the S7 will handle it.

The Q7, on the hand, has the more basic, boring water tank. Water from the tank drips onto the mopping pad via not a water pump, but the gravitational pull of the earth instead. All is not lost though, as you still have some control over how wet the mopping pad gets. There is a slider on the bottom of the water tank that lets you control how fast the water drips onto the mopping pad. 

The S7 wins in this case again. Being able to control exactly how much water to use when mopping is a big plus.

Difference 4. The S7 has a larger water tank, but the Q7 has a larger dustbin. 

The Roborock S7 has a 300 ml water tank where as the Q7 has a 180 ml water tank. When it comes to the dustbin, the Q7 has the bigger dustbin at 750ml compared to the S7’s 470ml. The Q7 has the largest dust bins out of all Roborock vacuums.

The differences here offer a hint at who these robots are made for. The S7 is meant for people who have mostly hard surfaces or a mix of hard and carpeted surfaces. The Q7 is meant for people who have mostly carpet and only need light mopping occasionally. 

This is a tie between the two robots. Depending on what you mainly use your vacuum for, one has the advantage over the other.

That’s all for the differences. Let’s talk a look at their similarities.

See Roborock Q7 on Amazon

Or click here to see the Roborock Q7+ on Amazon.

Similarity 1. Both are LIDAR based, allowing for precise mapping and smart navigation. 

The Q7 and S7 both use LIDAR for navigation. LIDAR uses lasers to measure distances and is more precise than the camera or IR sensors used in many other robot vacuums. This means that these robot vacuums are able to map your home very accurately and navigate around furniture without bumping into things. 

Both of these robot vacuums are also able to navigate your house in a methodical manner and make sure every inch of the floor is covered, instead of roaming around randomly like other cheaper robot vacuums. 

Similarity 2. Both have multiple containment options.

Roborock vacuums have arguably the best containment options on the market, and the Q7 and S7 are no exception. Invisible walls allow you to tell the robot which boundaries in your home you don’t want it to cross. No-go zones are areas that are off-limits to the robot. The S7 even has no-mop zones to mark off areas you don’t want or need to be mopped. 

Similarity 3. You can choose to clean just the rooms you want with both the S7 and the Q7.

Just as with the options for containment, the Q7 and S7 excel in giving you options for customizing your clean.

After the first cleaning session, a detailed map of your house is generated. It will take a guess at how your house is divided, e.g. kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc. If it doesn’t divide the rooms correctly, you can adjust the boundaries to where they should be. Perhaps it thinks the dining room and living room is one big room, you can manually split the area into two rooms in the app.

With the rooms properly set up, you can tell the robot to selectively clean just the rooms you want. Say perhaps your living room is where your cat hangs out the most. You can set up a cleaning routine where the Roborock cleans just the living. You can even set up a routine where the whole house is cleaned once but the living room is cleaned twice. The customizability offered here is one of the reasons why Roborock vacuums are so popular. 

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Similarity 4. Both have “auto top-up”

Auto top-up allows the robot to automatically go back to the charging dock when it’s running low on battery (20%), charge up for a bit (until it gets to 80%), and then continue cleaning until the job is complete. This means the robot will clean your entire home, no matter how big it is. A side benefit of this feature is that it prevents the battery from running too low. Recharging before the battery runs completely down is good for the health of the battery.

We are done with the differences and similarities between the S7 and Q7. Let’s take a look at some commonly asked questions.

FAQ

What are the differences between Roborock S7+ vs Roborock Q7+?

The exact same differences between the S7 and the Q7 apply to the S7 Plus and Q7 Plus. The “+” in the model name just means it’s the base robot PLUS an auto-emptying docking station. 

To be clear, this means the differences are that: The S7+ has a more advanced mop that scrubs and can raise itself up when carpet is detected. The Q7+ can’t do this since it only has the basic mop. The S7+ has an electronic water tank, giving you precise control, whereas the Q7+ has a basic gravity-fed water tank. 

Does the Roborock S7 have a camera?

No, the S7 is not equipped with a camera. This means it won’t have object avoidance for small items that are close to the ground. For object avoidance, look to the S7 MaxV.

Does the Roborock Q7 have a camera?

No, the Q7 does not have a camera. It relies on the LIDAR unit sitting on top of the robot to navigate your home. It will not be able to see anything lower than the LIDAR unit, so it won’t have object avoidance for small items on the ground.

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Conclusion

The Roborock S7 and Q7 have similar in that they are both LIDAR-based, have multiple containment options, can choose which rooms to clean, and will automatically top themselves up to finish cleaning your house, no matter the size. But this is where the similarities end. 

There are many differences between the two models, and the most important difference is that the S7 does a much better job of mopping. The S7 has a vibrating mechanism for moving the mopping pad quickly back and forth to effectively “scrub” your floor. The S7 is also able to raise the mop up whenever carpet is detected. 

In comparison, the Roborock Q7 is only meant for light mopping duty. The mop is static and the water feeding mechanism is gravity-based instead of electronically controlled. The Q7 beats the S7 in only one area, and that is the price.

So, which one should you choose?

If you have mostly carpet in your home and only need mopping on the rare occasion, then the Q7 might make sense. It will still be able to mop your house when you need it to, and you get to save  a bit of money compared to the S7. 

See Roborock Q7 on Amazon

Or click here to see the Roborock Q7+ on Amazon.

If you have lots of hard surfaces and regularly mop your home, the S7 is the winner hands down.  The advanced mopping system will make cleaning your floors much easier, and you won’t have to worry about your carpets getting wet from the mop. 

See Roborock S7 on Amazon

Or click here to see the Roborock S7+ on Amazon.

No matter which one you choose, you’ll be getting an excellent robot vacuum and mop that will clean your house well. 

Which Roborock do you think is better? Share your experience in the comments section below!